Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2011 May 18:14:25.
doi: 10.1186/1758-2652-14-25.

HIV infection and sexual risk behaviour among youth who have experienced orphanhood: systematic review and meta-analysis

Don Operario  1 , Kristen Underhill, Carolyn Chuong, Lucie Cluver
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

HIV infection and sexual risk behaviour among youth who have experienced orphanhood: systematic review and meta-analysis

Don Operario et al. J Int AIDS Soc. .

Abstract

Background: Previous research has suggested that orphaned children and adolescents might have elevated risk for HIV infection. We examined the state of evidence regarding the association between orphan status and HIV risk in studies of youth aged 24 years and younger.

Methods: Using systematic review methodology, we identified 10 studies reporting data from 12 countries comparing orphaned and non-orphaned youth on HIV-related risk indicators, including HIV serostatus, other sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy and sexual behaviours. We meta-analyzed data from six studies reporting prevalence data on the association between orphan status and HIV serostatus, and we qualitatively summarized data from all studies on behavioural risk factors for HIV among orphaned youth.

Results: Meta-analysis of HIV testing data from 19,140 participants indicated significantly greater HIV seroprevalence among orphaned (10.8%) compared with non-orphaned youth (5.9%) (odds ratio = 1.97; 95% confidence interval = 1.41-2.75). Trends across studies showed evidence for greater sexual risk behaviour in orphaned youth.

Conclusions: Studies on HIV risk in orphaned populations, which mostly include samples from sub-Saharan Africa, show nearly two-fold greater odds of HIV infection among orphaned youth and higher levels of sexual risk behaviour than among their non-orphaned peers. Interventions to reduce risk for HIV transmission in orphaned youth are needed to address the sequelae of parental illness and death that might contribute to sexual risk and HIV infection.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart for systematic search.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Meta-analysis of six studies (n = 19,140) comparing HIV-positive serostatus in orphaned versus non-orphaned youth.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bhargava A, Bigombe B. Public policies and the orphans of AIDS in Africa. BMJ. 2007;14:1387–1389. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Foster G, Levine C, Williamson J, (Eds) A Generation at Risk: Orphans and Vulnerable Children. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press; 2005.
    1. UNAIDS, UNICEF, USAID. Children on the Brink 2004: A Joint Report of New Orphan Estimates and a Framework for Action. New York, NY; 2004.
    1. Doctor HV, Weinreb AA. Estimation of AIDS adult mortality by verbal autopsy in rural Malawi. AIDS. 2003;14:2509–2513. doi: 10.1097/00002030-200311210-00014. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Richter LM, Desmond C. Targeting AIDS orphans and child-headed households? A perspective from national surveys in South Africa, 1995-2005. AIDS Care. 2008;14:1–10. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types